


Winepress

by madammina



Category: Castlevania (Cartoon), 悪魔城ドラキュラ | Castlevania Series, 悪魔城伝説 | Castlevania lll: Dracula's Curse
Genre: Alucard is injured, Biting, Blood, Friendship, Gen, Team as Family, The others offer to help, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-27
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2018-12-07 14:27:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 21,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11625477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madammina/pseuds/madammina
Summary: Alucard tried to hide his injuries.  The others notice.





	1. Alucard vs a Werewolf

Werewolves were stupid. 

Alright, fine, maybe he was just more interested in getting out of the sun. Maybe he was still groggy from sleeping for so long. Maybe he was hungry as a human was hungry. 

But he should have knocked that werewolf down flat. 

Alucard hissed as staggered through the thick trees, blood dripping onto his shirt. His fangs gleamed in the moonlight easing up over the horizon. His cape was practically a part of him as it fluttered around. He gathered some of it in order to hold onto the gash. His feet thudded on fallen pine needles as the walls of the nearby city faded under sunset. His vision swam for a second, and he leaned against a tree to catch his breath. 

It would get worse, he reminded himself. Not just the gouging claws of the werewolf. But his father thought him asleep and Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades dead. Or at least buried under so much rubble they wouldn't be a problem for a while. Not a bad deduction, the two of them had fallen down a hole and never came back up. 

But Dracula's castle had DEFENSES. Demons and medusa's heads and bodies held together by nothing but hate. And, of course, werewolves. Ones that would not listen to Alucard's own power. Dhampyrs had power. Not as a great as a full vampire, true. But enough that he should be able to at least sway any wandering werewolf. And he could survive in the sunlight, more than his father could say. That was always an awkward time, when people came to visit his mother during the day and his father had to stay hidden. 

Maybe his time with humans had weakened him. His mother had taken him into town sometimes when he was young. He would hide under her cloak and she would laugh about how "he burned so easily." As long as he hid his fangs and stayed away from garlic or blood, he was fine. Had it truly been one year... or over? 

She had served her people well, and he would have saved her. But she had sent him on an errand and he was trapped in a forest under the noon sun. By the time he returned to town, he couldn't even get close. Did she know? Suspect? Why hadn't she-

Alucard hissed and stumbled over a root. Pain thudded through his body as he tried to push himself up. Blood dripped from his side. He turned his head to prepare to push himself up, but was distracted when the blood fell onto a boot.

"Well, looky here." Trevor Belmont drawled. "The Dhampyr is bleeding."

"I'm mostly fine." Alucard hissed as he pushed himself back up. He tried to daintly step over the branch, but swayed at the loss of his own blood. He stumbled backwards, and Sypha caught him.

"You don't look good." She said as she helped him straighten up. "And I'm telling you this as if you were a human. You look like you are about to faint."

"Are you hungry?" Trevor said as he pulled an apple from the back the Speakers gave him. He bit into it with his perfectly normal teeth then did not have the decency to close his mouth as he talked. "We got plenty of food-"

"I have not eaten for over a year, yes I am hungry." Alucard said testily. Sypha said nothing, but her eyes had darted down to his gash. 

"That's not what I'm talking about." Trevor said, spitting flakes of apple. "The vampire is injured and hungry does he want a taste of human blood." 

"I do not partake." Alucard said haughtily. He had tried, once. One of the first times his mother had sent him out. Nearly ripped out the man's throat. He moved to the occasional animal after that. Only when he was lonely or injured. His mother wouldn't like it if he drank all the cows in their district. "Either give me food or claim it's not for dirty half breeds like myself and I should find a cat. Which one will it be."

"Alucard." Sypha said severly. He did not look at her. Trevor continued to bite the apple but made no other move. "Both of you are idiots." She groaned. "What is the-"

"You saw the coffin he was in." Trevor said after a moment. "Vampires need blood to heal. And that gash isn't healing, am I right? Something supernatural left it. I'm guessing it's a werewolf."

Alucard still said nothing. Then his vision swam again, and contracted. He felt himself fall to the ground.

****

He woke up... the moon was fully up. Maybe an hour later. A fire crackled nearby. He groaned, and tried to sit up. He felt something soft by his waist. He looked down.

Someone had wrapped some linen over his wound.

"Good, you are up." Sypha said as she hurried over. "Listen-"

"We want you to bite us." Trevor said. Alucard blinked his golden eyes a few times.

"What?" He finally said. He scooted up a bit more and realized that Sypha had left him at the base of a tree. Trevor's cloak was bundled where his head had rested.

"Don't make me say it again." Trevor grumbled as he walked over. "We want you to bite both of us." He sat down on a stump in front of the fire, chewing some jerky he had pulled from somewhere in that tunic of his. What did...

"I heard you." Alucard said. "I just don't understand."

"We are relying on you to get us to Dracula's Castle." Trevor explained slowly. "You know where it is, how it moves, what it's defenses are. And the sooner we get there the sooner we can keep him from attacking anywhere else."

"Trevor explained to me." Sypha started to say. "That Vampires - and half vampires - need blood to heal quickly and replenish their strength. Your strength and need is less, as you are half human-"

Alucard flashed back to that time his mother had to drag him away from trying to bite a pretty girl.

"- but the healing factor is about the same." She finished. Alucard blinked again. 

"If... If you are sure. I wasn't lying earlier. I haven't..." He struggled to find the right word. 

"Do we have ourselves a VIRGIN VAMPIRE?" Trevor laughed. "Just bite us in the neck and get it over with. Unless you don't trust your instincts." With a sigh, he got up. "Can you stand? I'd rather not kneel while this happens." 

He didn't actually trust his instincts. But Sypha helped him up.

"I'm offering too." She said. "Both of us. That way none of us will spend that long recuperating. If the... burden" She took a breath. "Is shared between the two of us."

"You are both... very brave people." He finally said. His fangs itched. Sypha had gotten him over to Trevor by now and he rested his hands on Trevor's tunic. Trevor tilted his neck so he could see the veins pulsing, just below the skin. "Sypha, if I lose control, set me on fire or something."

"Don't set him on fire until I get away." Trevor argued back. "Did you ever watch your dear old dad do this?" He asked Alucard. Alucard lowered his head to the skin.

"No" he muttered, his lips just grazing... "Mother forbid it in the house." 

Fangs broke through skin and Trevor Belmont hissed in pain. Blood rushed over Alucard's lips as he greedily sucked it in. It was warm and coppery and carried unknown scents and secrets. 

Then Trevor Belmont slipped slightly and a switch went off in Alucard's brain. He broke it off and stepped back. Already the wound was knitting itself back together under the linen. He looked back at Trevor, who was still standing. Blood dripped slightly down his collar and he was a bit paler than before, but he gave a weak smile, before walking over to the fire and sitting down almost as if his legs gave way. 

"Me Next." Sypha said. She turned her head sideways and lifted the little strands of her hair back. He had to bend over a bit for this one. Sypha reached out and gripped his arms a bit too tightly. No matter. 

Another prick, a spasm as she clenched his arm, then more blood. Her blood was hot and cold and full of sparks. It carried stories that he had never heard in languages he couldn't understand. And then, all too soon, there was that switch again and he let go. 

Sypha didn't faint, but she looked close. 

"Let me get you some water." Alucard said as he carried her back to the fire. He retrieved Trevor's cloak and wrapped it around her. 

"Go ahead." Trevor sighed as he patted at his own bite mark. "Will this scar?"

"I don't think anyone would notice." Alucard admitted. He turned to leave, then paused.

"Thank you." He said, then turned around. "I mean this in all sincerity. You have offered me something great, something I will do my best to repay."

"Blood comes back." Sypha said, the firelight reflecting off her pale face. "We just need to stay here a day or-"

"You've given me true companionship." Alucard said. "You have taken me into your group, fed me in a few ways, and accept me as I am." He gave a bow, his hair covering his face so he couldn't see their expressions. Then he straightened up and floated a foot off the ground. "Let me repay it to you the best that I can. And to your family, and descendants, and all those you take into your trust. Alucard will always be there." 

"Yeah, yeah. just get some water." Trevor said. "It's because of you we were going to be hold up a day either way." Sypha just gave a small smile,

And with that, Alucard flew into the night, ready to start to repay his companions' generosity.


	2. Trevor vs Skeletons and Shopkeepers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... continuing...

Trevor Belmont held back a curse as they wandered through the streets. The Vampire - Alucard - hid himself under a hooded cloak. Sypha still dressed as a Speaker, but it made things odd. People kept looking for other speakers, they would need to get her new clothes soon.

"Exactly how much of your family fortune is left?" Alucard asked as he almost glided up next to Trevor. "I don't need much but Sypha looks like she is about to faint."

He had meant it, the bit about taking care of them. Ever since that day when he had sucked their blood (Which was disgusting), Alucard had stayed very attentive to them. 

"Not much." Trevor admitted. "Maybe we need some sort of odd job. I'm cursed enough already, I don't want to steal from someone to top it all off." 

"Yes. A Speaker, an excommunicated man with a whip, and a man who never shows his face. We will be given all sorts of odd jobs." Sypha said. Alucard slowed down and held out his arm. She took it. 

"A place to sleep that isn't a coffin or a tree would be nice." Alucard admitted. "but you two need something to eat more than I do." 

Trevor would never admit it when the Vampire was right. Maybe he could hear their stomachs growling. That would be a non vampire tip off. 

"I have enough for a drink at an inn." Trevor finally admitted. "We can use that to try to hear something." 

***

About an hour later, Trevor entered the first inn that didn't reek of garlic. Alucard sniffed a little but Sypha began to salivate as other food smells came towards her. Trevor sighed. The inn was dark wood, stained with candle smoke. Flowers and moss dripped from the dirt ceiling, little seeds that had flown in and never left. Strong wooden beams held the ceiling up, and looked like it had for the last 100 years. Food would be simple, beer was local, and someone might bring in their dog.

Perfect. 

"I'll see what I can do." He said finally. Alucard took off his hood and led Sypha to a nearby round table as she took one of the chairs. Twilight began to fall, turning his eyes red. Soon Trevor came back, carrying a small cup of soup and two drinks.

"It would look suspicious if you didn't have anything." He said as he gave Alucard one of the drinks. "Pretend it's blood or whatever you need to do."

"I'm part human too." Alucard replied as Sypha dove into the soup with much more enthusiasm then Alucard did when he sucked her blood. "Just don't get too drunk while the other drinks come."

"What?" Trevor looked up. "What are you talking about?" Alucard just smiled. 

Trevor found out a few minutes later when some of the trade woman came in for a drink after work. Trevor picked one out for a blacksmith - strong arms and burnt hands were a give away - and another as a weaver of some sort. She still carried thread with her. They glanced at Alucard's seat - Trevor suddenly realized how close they were to the door and how Alucard got a good view of the bar - and two drinks were sent over soon after. Then another meal when a baker of some sort came in. 

"You conman." Trevor whispered as he tried to keep a laugh out of his voice. "When did you pick up that little vampire trick?" 

"Not a conscious one, I assure you." Alucard said as he accepted a mug of beer. "Mother always said that father did have some good looks when they met." 

"And not when he's, well, on fire." Sypha said as Alucard took another cup of soup and handed it over to her. "Thank you."

"No problem. Ah, and here come some men." He frowned. "Never can tell with them. They either threaten me or try to get me to drink with them."

"How often did your mother send you out of town?" Trevor asked. 

"Enough to have heard about you." Alucard replied demurely. "Which reminds me, do you want my cloak? I don't think we want you fighting over what people think of your family." 

Some more soup arrived along with a beer and both were passed to Trevor. Who took it as he shouldn't say anything to not cause a brawl. 

He wasn't going to cause a bar brawl. Except that last time. But that wasn't his fault, he was just trying to leave when all of this happened and quite frankly he tied that to boot. 

"What are you doing here." One of the men said as he came up to the table.

"Having a drink with traveling companions." Alucard said as he lifted his cup. Trevor and Sypha also did so. "This is a bar, is there a problem?" 

"Yeah, you getting eyes from our girls." Another said. 

"I'm the only one who talked to anyone, and I ordered." Trevor said with the hood up over his head. "Anything else is on you." 

"Well, leave." The first one said. "Strangers aren't welcome here."

"Oh that would be lovely, this town isn't always to my... taste." Alucard said smoothly. Trevor noticed that as he said taste, Alucard's tongue rested on one of his fangs. "But we three don't have any money. If you could give us a job or something to earn it I'm sure-"

"I got one." The weaver woman from earlier came to their table and sat across from Alucard, her back to the men. "There have been rumors of... something. in the sewers. Some say our catacombs have returned to life. "

"Really?" Sypha looked up, her eyes glinting at a new story. "Can you tell us it exactly?"

"Not much to tell." Weaver girl said. She was average for the area. brown eyes, black hair, strong arms, a few cuts from work, and so on. Her clothes were well done, but again as a weaver that would be expected.   
***  
An hour - and each person giving a mean right hook - later, Trevor Belmont lowered himself down into the sewers of the town. Sypha followed, and Alucard floated down and stayed above the muck.

"I hate you." Trevor muttered as he slogged through who knows what. Alucard grinned, then grimaced. "Except you can smell everything, can't you?"

"Just be quiet." Sypha chided both of them. "Something is in here and we are hired to get it out."

"I can't decide if this is beneath me or not. I need to eat but a Belmont helps no matter what." Trevor muttered.

"Well neither Belmont or Speaker can help if we are hungry." Sypha reminded him. 

"If you give me your cloaks I can get them from getting messier." Alucard said after a moment. "We can can clean them later." He sudden pulled up short. "Can you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Sypha asked, but Trevor stopped too. Far away, a little plink came down from one of the sewer caverns.

"This way." Trevor said as he ripped off his cloak. Alucard snatched it up and daintly grabbed Sypha's. All three hurried towards the sound.

They soon reached a catacomb - where the dead were buried in alcoves on the wall or were stripped down to bone to decorate the walls. They had been used years ago as churches when Catholics were tracked down to be tortured or killed, but with the new acceptance of them, Catacomb Churches were not used normally.

Which is why Trevor, Sypha, and Alucard were looking at skeletons kicking around a head like a game in the middle of what would have been a church. 

"Oh. Yorick." Alucard sighed. "What does the bestiary say?"

"It SAID that skeletons reform unless completely destroyed." Trevor replied. He pulled out his whip. "We should take care of this before someone gets hurt."

Sypha summoned ice as Alucard pulled his own sword from it's scabbard. These skeletons won't stand a chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm just going to do a few adventures of these three when I get ideas. It's also 1 AM and I need sleep.


	3. Sypha vs the Medusa Heads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is 2 AM and I am SO writing the next chapter soon. Enjoy!

Sypha groaned as she walked over to the table in the weaver's house. It was dark, as justifiable for night. And Sypha stank. The battle had been won, but at the cost of her clothes. Fortunately, again, they were hired by a weaver. 

"I'll get it cleaned up, don't worry." The weaver said as she hung up Sypha's clothes to dry. Sypha hunkered down under a blanket in the main room. It was dark, but comfy. A few candles lit up the small paintings that were art and she had plants she grew out of the few windows. It was larger than a few other houses, which was how Trevor and Alucard were busy arguing in the kitchen behind her over the best food to cook as a thank you. Which, was a large problem.

"When was the last time you even ATE?" Alucard asked. Sypha could see his shadow on the wall opposite her. "And I mean real food, besides the soup and those strips of dried of meat. Something you cook."

"I can ask you the same thing! You and your... diets." Trevor swapped at the last minute. 

"I DO eat!" Alucard snapped back. Sypha hid a giggle, then lay back in the fluffy chair. 

"You travel a lot?" The weaver, Marie, asked. Sypha nodded. 

"I'm a Speaker." Sypha said as she looked at the ceiling. "We do nothing but travel, help, and collect stories. I think I'm collecting a story right now. It is... odd... to be apart of one."

"I can imagine." Marie said as she pulled out a spool and began to spin some thread. "Those two are your body guards?"

"You can say that. For any short distance problems." Sypha was master of the long range. She had shown it by icing up a few skeletons from far away. Dracula may be fine with fire, but Alucard wasn't sure about himself. Either way "Setting myself on fire for science is not a good idea for either vampires or humans, so I - as a dhampyr - won't risk it." He had said in that stuck up tone of his. 

"Ah, I see." Marie said. "Do you want to sleep where you are tonight or will you three share a room.

At this point a metal pot fell on the floor with a THUNK as something else broke with a crash. 

"I'll take here." Sypha said. 

"Better chance for sleep." Marie agreed. "Why don't you start now." 

Under the blanket, with the fire working on their clothes, Sypha yawned and snuggled deeper into the chair. 

***   
When she woke up later, the fire had gone out. Sypha pulled the warm blanket over her as a cloak and winced as her bare feet stepped on the cold, dirt, floor. Something moved in the rafters, but Sypha ignored it. 

"Trevor? Alucard? Marie?" She whispered. The house only groaned in response. Where were they? She should...

She should at least hear breathing. 

Sypha sprinted across the room and threw open the door that would have lead to Alucard's and Trevor's room. Their shadowy forms were there, still. But why couldn't she hear Trevor breathing? 

Sypha cast a small fire spell on a nearby candle. The light flickered, revealing a small room. Dirt floor, a dresser, no beds, but one shadow was on the floor and the other was a few feet above it. It looked like someone had weighed down Alucard's blanket with stones in an attempt to make it seem less abnormal. 

Why hadn't they moved? The door slammed but-

Sypha moved closer and put the candle close. 

It flickered over Trevor Belmont's stone face. 

Sypha stumbled back slightly, and felt herself fall into Alucard's area. He felt too solid, and with one glance of her candle she saw that he, too, had turned even whiter then before. 

Her breath came rapidly as she stumbled out of the room. Marie hadn't come out of the main room so either she was a deep sleeper or the Cyclops had her too.

THat can't be right. The Cyclops was dead. Trevor Belmont killed it. Trevor Belmont had stabbed it in the eye. And either way sleep meant closed eyes which meant the Cyclops couldn't use it's powers. And how would it get into a house anyway?

Think, Sypha, think. 

 

Sypha put the candle down and sat back on the chair. This wasn't weird. This was normal. The Belmonts dealt with this all the time. Yes, yes they had to do that. They took care of monsters. She was a speaker. She knew stories. There had to be something....

The thing rustled in the roof again. Sypha grabbed the candle from the small table and lifted it up. As the snake slithered through the ceiling, she gasped, then let it out. She gave a small chuckle. Just a snake. Probably just looking for some warmth in the... fire...

Snake?

"What was that story?" She asked out loud. Nothing replied, as expected. 

She ignored her feet this time to head back into the room where her companions lay frozen in time. 

"Hush and let me speak." She said, invoking the right of Speakers to tell their stories, to pay their wage. Speakers helped all, and the best way to do that was with stories. Stories lifted the mind, gladdened the heart, and relieved any worries for the time that they spoke. 

"Once upon a time, three sisters were born." Sypha said. Her companions did nothing. "Born of the gods, they all possessed the tails of snakes and the bodies of women. These would go about claiming people, either as companions or as meals." Sypha moved her hands. If she had cared to, an image would have appeared of the three Gorgons. "They were cursed for their actions." Yes. The story formed around her, each plot point bringing the next forward. Snakes were in this story. That was what caused this. She needed to look at that bestiary. So many stories! Though written and not spoken. Spoken stories had EMOTION. 

"Even their very parents cursed them. Their womanly hair was turned into snakes and they were cast down into the depths of the earth. But before they did so, their very visage was so ugly that all who looked upon them... turned to stone." 

Sure, she had skipped the love story. And that bit about the Opera singing pig. But this was the meat of it. 

"Thank you for listening to me speak." Sypha finished as she bowed, turned, and walked back into the main room. Then she grabbed Trevor's cloak, put her shoes on, and opened the door.

The cloak was warm, and covered every inch of her. The fur near the top kept on making her nose twitch. Alucard's sword swung at her waist, but all she could do was finger the handle. The moonlight lit up her path as something moved in the trees. Could Dracula see her through bats? She would have to ask Alucard later. 

Before she knew it, the road dipped and she almost stepped into a huddle of snakes. One or two hissed as the group of them lazily swirled around each other, making the ground look like it was moving. 

"Come out, Medusa.": Sypha called. Her hands were raised in front of her as wind gusted through the cloak. "I know you are here."

"Ah, clever child." A voice hissed. "Yes, I am here."

"Where you sent by Dracula or of your own free will?" Sypha asked. She stared at a tree straight ahead of her. Her gaze could never flicker. Medusa's voice slithered around her, but she had shield or mirror. 

"It doesn't matter. Either way, I bring him prizes." Medusa chuckled. OUt of the corner of her eye, Sypha saw something slither. But she did not look. She could not. Something touched her foot. 

"Do I turn my companions back by killing you?" Sypha asked. 

"IF you can kill me, then all I have turned to stone will return. Including the person who owns that house." Medusa promised. "But that is an if." 

"Understood." Sypha replied, then cast the spell of wind upon the ground. She may not be able to look at Medusa, but now Medusa couldn't see her...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If my plans work out, there will be an actual fight next chapter.


	4. Alucard vs Carmilla

Alucard groaned as he felt the sunlight creep into the room. As much as Vampires were creatures of the night, working with two humans meant transferring his sleep schedule. The dawn, instead of sending him to bed, just woke him up now. Ugh. He turned around and felt the blanket get tangled up in his legs. Why did he think the rocks were a good idea? Something about not scaring off Marie the Weaver who was paying them in money and food and sleep.... Maybe he should have joined Sypha by the fire. That room was comfy.

Sypha.

Blood.

Not all Sypha's blood.

The coppery scent hit Alucard's nose as he opened his eyes. His palms pushed against the hard packed dirt as he tried to stand up without tripping over Trevor. That idiot had taken up half the floor. As soon as he got both legs out of the blanket, he hovered up a feet and made his way to the door, opening it as quickly as he could. He landed as soon as he got to a clear area, rushed with supernatural speed to the kitchen table, and found Sypha asleep next to something that was covered in a bloody cloth with his blade next to it. Sypha had a cut over her eye, and a deeper one in the palm of her hand. 

"I'm fine." She finally managed to murmur. "Don't touch that."

"What is it?" Alucard asked. He drew a chair out and sat down next to her. "I know a way to clean up the blood, don't worry about it."

"Medusa's head. Where's Trevor Belmont?" She asked. 

"Sleeping. You killed Medusa?" Alucard looked again at the bloody sac and could sort of see her snake hairs. "I hadn't had the chance to meet her, but how did she track us down?"

"Not sure she did." Sypha yawned. "I think she just found us and decided to take advantage of us sleeping." She blinked blearily.

"Why don't you go to sleep, I can handle this." Alucard said as he gently wrapped up the head. "You need it, you beat Medusa." He paused. "Did we turn to stone?"

"Yes." Sypha said as she got up and walked clumsily across the room. She hit the chair she slept in earlier, and tumbled down into it. "I-"

"Sypha, you have blood on your clothes. You want me to clean that for you?" Alucard asked. Sypha peeled off her shirt, pulled the blanket to her neck, and fell asleep in a few seconds. Alucard hid a smile, then pulled together the laundry - again - to being the wash before the sun got too high. The water nearby removed most of the blood and his vampire hands - too strong and quick for most humans - got the rest. The river's glade was quiet, with just some trees and some grass. It didn't do too much to hide Alucard from the sun, but it gave him a few moments to hover and breath in peace. Not that he could cross to the other side anyway. Not without help. 

"You aren't from around here, are you." Marie said. "I'm not sure what you are, but you aren't pure human." She sat down next to him by the small stream and handed him some bread. "Also you can't cook at all." 

"I'm working on it." Alucard said defensively, but still bit into the piece of bread. "You are up early."

"None of you three are quiet." Marie responded. "I heard the door open, you falling on the ground, Sypha coming back last night, and that other man's snores." She sighed. "Still, the company is nice. I never really get any. Weaving takes time."

"Should I let you get back at it?" Alucard asked after a moment. Already the sun was beginning to leave hot red marks on his skin. "My apologies, I would love to enjoy this day with you but I need to go inside."

"Understandable." Marie said, and leaned back against a small tree. "If you ever need anything, my house is open."

"Thank you." Alucard said as he stood up and bowed. "You have been a pleasure to know." As the sun rose, he worked his way back to the house and entered.

"THERE You are! Sypha took down Medusa!" Trevor Belmont - sober for what may be the second day in a row - looked up from the table. "Where were you? Are our clothes ready?"

"Mostly." Alucard said as he slid into a shadowy spot. "Sypha just needs some more time to dry. And sleep." They both turned to look at her, still curled up under the blanket.  
***  
In the late afternoon, they were finally ready to set out. Alucard's hood stayed up as they left on the road east. 

"We still don't know if that's where Dracula is." Trevor grumbled. He rubbed his stubble as he looked at the low sunlight on the road. "What advantage does east have over west?"

"We ran into two monsters very close to each other." Sypha reminded him. The cut over her eye was already healing nicely and Marie had given her some "Bad weaving" - she had claimed that anyway - "To keep that cut clean." 

Alucard's two companions continued to talk as Alucard took another breath. There was very little like walking into the evening. Everything would be calm, and the earth was drowsy in the late heat. 

Why had everything gone quiet?

"I'm saying that the bestiary can be PRINTED. The stories can be spread to many people and help them defend themselves from-"

"QUIET." Alucard hissed. He reached down to his sword. "Something's here." 

Sypha immediately pulled her hands up so flame surrounded her hands. Too much farther and she risked setting the forest on fire. Trevor put his hand back on his whip. Alucard glanced at Trevor's backpack, where Medusa's head still lay. In a pinch, maybe....

"ADRIAN! There you are. We all have been worried about you." A female voice came from the road ahead.

"Oh no." Alucard said. Trevor and Sypha glanced back. "Either hurry up and get her or stay behind me. I don't-" But it was too late. The barely dressed woman floating on a skull came down the road, a woman following her. "Carmilla. It is a pleasure to see you once again." 

"Who is she?" Trevor hissed. Alucard flared his cape, Trevor and Sypha better get behind it. 

"She's... sort of like a weird aunt." Alucard admitted. 

"Your version of a weird aunt is a naked woman riding a skull?" Trevor asked, dumbfounded. Alucard had the decency to blush. 

"Adrian, your father is worried." Carmilla said. "He will unleash his plans no matter what, but he would rather you be by his side."

"Dear Carmilla." Alucard gave a small bow. "My mother's wishes were very clear on this front. And who am I to disobey my mother's last words?" 

The fire hadn't consumed her until at least an hour later. But her lungs were long gone by then. He never could do anything but watch. Both he and his father had offered sometimes, make her immortal like him. Maybe Alucard too. But she had always turned them down. "I like that Italian food too much." She would say, with that smile of hers. That smile that didn't reach her eyes when Alucard first tracked down a stray cat. 

"Oh, yes. that may work for you. But your companions? I can hear them from here." Alucard didn't move, but Carmilla's companion did. She rushed from her spot by a tree and catapulted herself over Alucard to land somewhere behind him. With a CRACK Trevor lashed out. He dropped the bag to the ground as he rushed to face Carmilla.

"No use standing on ceremony now!" He shouted and struck out with the whip again. She simply moved a bit. Sypha had her flames at the ready and with her own movements, she let a flame lash out at the floating woman. Carmilla laughed and fell to the ground. Right between both of them. 

Alucard sped forward, unsheathing his sword faster than the human eye could follow. He began a complicated sword move, but Carmilla reached up and grabbed his blade. Alucard jumped up, ready to use supernatural height to knock her off the skull. A gust of wind from Sypha rushed through the glade. Alucard could hear their heartbeats speed up. The companion, Laura, her skin flaking off from Sypha's fire that still drifted around the clearing, managed to lay a hand on Trevor. She drew him close and tilted his head up. Trevor couldn't move his arms as she was behind him, and the Vampiric Sway was winning. Alucard turned, his blade at the read to pierce Laura's shell of a heart when 

"Winepress." Laura whispered. Alucard and Carmilla froze. Carmilla looked at Alucard, then Trevor and Sypha. Laura was peeling from Trevor as if her hands burned. Well, they were. But in a different way. She knelt down right next to Trevor's backpack as Trevor fell to his knees. Sypha's wind wavered, her brow furrowed as if reaching for a fact just out of reach.

"You did it, didn't you." She whispered. "I should have gotten you first." 

"I..." Alucard stuttered. "It wasn't..." 

A rustle of fabric pulled on his attention. Laura had the bag open and pulled out a bloody sac. 

"NO!" he shouted, but Laura tossed it to Carmilla and Carmilla exposed Medusa's bloody face. 

Then Alucard froze, and blacked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to hold off on this, but between ideas flowing and the comments, well....
> 
> Anyway Winepresses were an idea I had after I A) Read Dracula (FANTASTIC BOOK. Read it.) and B) Wrote a vampire fanfic. 
> 
> The fanfic stunk. This was the only good idea from it. I'm going to use it in Nano this year, I think, but until then... enjoy!


	5. Trevor vs Carmilla

Well, crap. 

Trevor Belmont rushed from his ground position and pulled his whip out so it flicked against the vampire girl. Seriously. How was this Alucard's "Weird Aunt"? How weird did this need to be? What other relatives did he need to know about? Did Dracula have a sister? Or was this Alucard's mother sister? Or was it like his Aunt Gertrude who wasn't an aunt at all? 

Right, Vampires. And... Alucard's in stone. That Medusa Head could be the death of them.

"Got anything?" He shouted at Sypha. Sypha had her hands out and flicking flaming whips at the two. Carmilla had hurried over to the other one, and began to pull her back.

"Right. So, you can't touch us, right?" Trevor grinned. Vampire Killer cracked behind him as flames blew across the road.

He would NEVER tell Alucard, but the minute that vampire had tried to bite him, it felt so utterly wrong. Not the wrongness he had experienced before. He had never been bitten, but a few had gotten close. And that felt wrong. The Sway was working, or just people TOUCHING him like that. But this... this was something else.

Again, not that he would ever say anything. 

Carmilla hissed at him. Her face - previously smooth and cute red eyes and small fangs - twisted into something cruel and viscious and animal like. Her companion followed suit. 

"I got the little one." Sypha shouted. She switched to ice. 

"Good." Trevor stepped forward. He cracked his whip. "Let's see what we got." 

Carmilla screeched and her skull began to fire out blood. Trevor dodged it, and felt the ice manifest behind him. No time to focus on Sypha now. 

As he cracked Vampire Killer again with his right hand, he used his left to pull out a short stake. He whipped it to grab Carmilla around her neck. She hissed and tried to float away. Right. Clearly a vampire power then. Do they have Batwings too or was that just sometimes?

Still, he was a bit too heavy for her and she had to fall back down to the ground. She screeched again then rushed towards him. With the whip still around her neck, he flipped to the side so she fell to the ground. Trevor hurried over, his stake out, when she darted out from underneath him. As he lost his balance and fell, she got up and kneed him in the crotch. With her hands on his jacket, she pushed him against a tree. 

"You have sunk to being a wine press." She hissed. 

"Lady, I have no clue what that is." Trevor said, then tried to stab her in the heart. 

Unfortunately doing it with your arms pinned makes it really easy to miss. He managed to scrape her side, but she still got away. The whip fell from her neck, leaving massive burns, and she reached into the skull. She pulled out a sword.

"Right. New." Trevor muttered and just prepared the whip again. 

"Try some new tricks." Carmilla hissed. "I grow bored." 

"True." Trevor admitted. "SYPHA!" 

Ice burst from the ground and surrounded all of them. As Carmilla looked around, she tried to scramble on the ice to get away. But it was too high. Slowly, Trevor walked up towards her and pulled the knife out.

"Resquiat in Pace." He hissed, and stabbed her in the heart. She screamed, blood began to drip down her face, and she slowly fell lip and began to disintegrate. As Trevor turned, he saw Sypha had gotten the other one trapped in a whole of it's own.

"I got it." Trevor said. "Just open up-" 

One open whole and a stab later, the other vampire was gone too. 

Slowly Sypha let the ice melt and they both walked to wear Alucard's statue stood. As they watched, cracks appeared in it. Soon, it erupted into bits of stone, and he fell out of the mold. HE panted, and Trevor Belmont put a sword to his neck.

"Right. You are going to tell me what a Winepress is. Right. Now." He said. "Or I chop your head off."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, do you want the explanation now or later this week?


	6. Sypha vs Winepress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I want to use this for Nano. This is my idea. I'm stating this now.

Sypha sat down on a nearby rock as flames lowered around her. As much as she controlled her own fire, in the forest it could take on it's own life. She took a shuddering breath as a cut Medusa inflicted on her flared on her stomach, but was over all ok. The younger Vampire could be captured easily in ice. Something Trevor couldn't do. But keeping her there was another matter. She watched as Trevor placed his sword on Alucard's neck. 

"All I have are stories." Alucard said. "But if it's true, you can't hurt me." 

"I need you anyway." Trevor sniffed. "Sypha, have you heard of these stories?" He glanced back at Alucard, but did withdraw his sword. Alucard stood up. "Calling that Vampiress his weird aunt. Maybe he's just here to deter us from finding Dracula." 

Alucard's face instantly changed, his fangs extended and his eyes turned pure red. But it lasted a second, then he was back to himself.

"She was my weird aunt!" He finally said. "I may have been with my human mother most of my life, but I KNOW the people you hunted. That we are hunting." His hand made a fist over where his heart was. Or maybe where it would have been. Sypha didn't know. What does happen when you are half human? "She came to my eighth birthday! My mother didn't like her and Laura hanging about all the time, but Carmilla gave me a book about myths." He took a breath. "Do you want to know what I know about winepresses or not?"

"How much do you know?" Trevor asked. Alucard ignored him and turned to Sypha.

"Sypha, tell me, what do you know of how one turns into a Vampire?"

"Hush, and let me speak." Sypha replied. "Long ago, Dracula, tired of murdering all who stood before him, wished to expand his powerbase. His power was quite new. While he had his power from demons, there was little in the way of expanding it. So, he made a new deal with the demons and was instructed on ways to share his power." 

Alucard gave a small frown.

"He always told me he was bored and wanted to experiment on himself." 

"You asked the Speaker to speak, let her speak!" Trevor reprimanded him. 

"TO CONTINUE." She raised her voice. Both men had enough decency to look sheepish. "The demons told him that to share his power, he must preform what is - on it's surface at least - a corruption of the Mass and the Eucharist. He must selfishly drink the blood of someone - preferably unwilling - then have them drink his own blood. With that knowledge, Dracula set out to make an army of Vampires who obeyed him and to take over what he could." She stood up and bowed. "Thank you for letting me Speak." 

Alucard turned to look at Trevor. 

"Why are-" Trevor frowned. 

"Alucard." Sypha said slowly. "That first night, how did you get hurt?" 

"Werewolf." Alucard replied. "One was stalking the camp. I tried to drive it off before it got to you - most wild, tired, or unaffiliated werewolves obey me - but this one did not. I did finally manage to drive it off, but it managed to get me during our fight."

Trevor clamped his hand over where Alucard bit him. Sypha found herself rubbing the spot too.

"What does that mean and what did you know-" Trevor growled. "I NEVER consented to be your, what? Blood slave?"

"Hush and let me speak." Sypha repeated as she rubbed her own bite. "There is a story, a faint one, about a Vampire far off who cared for someone. The story never says if it's a family member or a friend or a love."

"Vampires don't love." Alucard growled. "They care too much about satisfying their own urges. My mother gave me the gift of her humanity and making sure I never tried to inflict that kind of cruelty on anyone. "

"If I can continue." She said. Trevor was still rubbing his bite. "This vampire, they saw their companion was going to be hurt, so they rushed down to take whatever blow. But in doing so, was very hurt. The friend offered their blood to help the Vampire. After that, a bond was formed between them, supernatural one. But..." Sypha sighed. "Nothing else. It's one of the least known stories I know. Thank you for letting me speak."

Could... could she be in a story too now? Was this story about her?

"Did you know." Trevor growled. "What is going on and did you know."

"You can't." Alucard shrugged. "My father wanted to research them, but the instant you do something purposely create a winepress it fails." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I hadn't thought about it." 

"If you had remembered and told us of the possibility." Sypha said slowly. "You haven't said what a Winepress is." 

"The stories said it was... a kind of contract." Alucard's face twisted as he tried to put words to this. What if a Vampire was ever a speaker? What stories would they know? How would they tell them? 

"What. Kind. Of. Contract." Trevor growled. 

"Magical protection from vampires biting you and increased defense against other magical creatures." Alucard said hurriedly. "... and if I drink from you again I know when to stop." Alucard paused. "And i might be able to sense where you are and there might be telepathy involved." 

Trevor punched him. Alucard fell down to the ground in tumble of clothes and hair. 

"I didn't mean it!" Alucard shouted. His mouth bled as a fang scraped on his lip. He tried to push himself up but Trevor kicked him. 

"Why did that Vampire say I based myself?" Trevor shouted. Sypha stood up and began to conjure ice. She just needed a- there. 

As Trevor pulled his leg back again, Sypha threw a wall of ice between them. Alucard shakily pushed himself up as Trevor began to pound on the wall. 

"I am TREVOR BELMONT! LAST CHILD OF THE HOUSE OF BELMONT! I have been destroying monsters longer then you have been alive." Trevor hissed, his voice muffled by ice. He banged his fist again on the wall. "I will destroy any remnant of you stupid vampires from this earth, no matter how far I go, I will NEVER let one of your kind touch another human again." 

"And Call me what you will." Alucard responded. 

Sypha rubbed her temples. Sure she may be short on sleep but this was giving her a headache. 

"But when my father found out my mother was dead, he swore revenge on all humans. I was sleeping because of how badly he hurt me when I tried to stop him. I was helping you kill some of what you call monsters. Those were creatures I KNEW." Alucard hovered from off the ground. His fangs extended as his eyes turned bright red. "I am joining you in your quest. I am trying to kill my father. And you have the GALL to ask if when YOU offered to save my life, I, what, wanted to make you a feed bag?" 

"BOTH OF YOU! QUIET!" Wind whipped from behind Sypha. Both men continued to glare at each other. "We can not change what happened. Nor can we confirm the entire truth." 

Trevor went back to rubbing where Alucard bit him. 

"The only thing we know is Carmilla could not bite you." Sypha finished. "Alucard, you promised you would take care of us. Was this part of it?"

"I would have done so, if you were Winepresses or not." Alucard said, his fangs obstructing some of the words. "I meant what I said, you didn't just give me blood, you gave me companionship."

"I don't like being indebted to a Vampire." Trevor told Sypha, ignoring Alucard next to him. "And I don't want this thing to be solved because Dracula can't touch his son's favorite food source." 

"I haven't TOUCHED you since then!" Alucard shouted back. 

"That's it. I'm out." Sypha walked over to where her bag was. "That ice will melt in a few minutes. I'm going to the next town on the path and getting a room to sleep in. And food. I'm tired, I still have some cuts from Medusa, and I want a bed." She slung it onto her back. "I will wait there one day. After that, if I don't hear from you, I'm going to assume our quest has failed and I shall find my fellow Speakers." She looked back at them. "We all need to understand this. I also need to think about what this means, but I'm going to do that while it's quiet. " She started to walk down the path. 

"And not while you two have this pissing contest." She muttered under her breath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With that being said, if you want to use it PLEASE Message me or something. I love this as a platonic idea and I'm rather protective of it.


	7. Alucard vs Trevor

Shortly after Sypha disappeared over the hill, the ice between Alucard and Trevor melted suddenly. Alucard dashed a few feet ahead, escaping the punch Trevor directed at him again. 

"So, why, then, did Carmilla say I debased myself?" Trevor asked, fury just underneath those words.

"Maybe she thought being a Winepress was some sort of servitude, but I don't know." Alcuard sniffed as he walked briskly down the dirt road in the evening. Town. They needed to get into town. "There have been several legends, apparently, about Winepresses and the Vampires, but I don't know them that well." He could hear Trevor trying to catch up to him, Trevor Belmont was not a quiet man. "What are you going to do with this information?"

"Protect Sypha from you." Trevor said. "You can't just USE us." 

"I have no intention to do so." Alucard sniffed in reply. 

"One of these days" Trevor muttered. "I am going to eat nothing but Garlic, then force you to drink my blood. We will see what happens then."

"I did not intend for this to happen." Alucard reminded him. Humans. They can be stubborn. Though his father was quite stubborn too. "I wanted to protect you in gratitude."

"Yeah, yeah, we spill our blood for you and now we are, what, indentured servants?" 

Trevor had caught up with him. His coat had a new sheen of dirt and dust, and the little holes on his neck had not quite filled in. He was busy sweating and his eyes were a tad too bright. Apparently he had never been sober this long. Still, the look he had almost rivaled the look his father had given when Alucard said he would fight his plan. 

Not even the blood of two Winepresses could heal that scar. 

"So, tell me, do the legends say of anyone who fought this? You said Vampires don't love, don't even care for anyone beyond food. How then are we supposed to trust YOU on this." Trevor Belmont mocked. "This is rich, the great Adrian Tespesch AKA Alucard, Lying to humans for some blood." Trevor gave a hollow laugh. "I'm SURE the ladies loved that tale. What did your mother think of that?" 

Alucard reached out and gripped a hand around Trevor's throat. Or he tried, anyway. Despite his newly clawed hands and the fangs that sprung from his mouth, he could not fasten his hands on Trevor's throat. 

"Oooh. Good. We see the monster now." Trevor said. "Am I going to die with you draining me on a roadside." 

Alucard removed his hand, and took a breath. When he opened his eyes they were back to gold, and if he kept his mouth shut, he was back to being nothing but a tall, thin, pretty human. 

"I won't do that." He finally said in measured tones. "I understand I need to make this up to you, but I don't know how yet. It was not intentional." Another breath and "I'm Sorry." 

The moon was risen now, casting low, cool, shadows on the road. Alucard's shadow was barely there, compared to the bulky shadow of Trevor Belmont. The trees whistled in the faint breeze as the town ahead barely glowed more than a mile down the dirt road. Gentle sounds came from the forest as the two stood there for a bit. 

"I don't trust you." Trevor Belmont finally said Alucard said nothing, his mind already on their fight by his coffin. "Vampires have hunted the area for centuries."

"I understand." Alucard replied. "You are a Belmont-"

"That's right." Trevor said, and started to walk forward. "And listen to me, I have skewered more Vampires then years you have been alive. I have not lost a fight to Man or beast."

To be fair, they HAD tied by the coffin. If he was more blood thirsty, all of them would be dead. 

"ANd you listen to me VAMPIRE." Trevor hissed. Alucard loked calmly at him, making a point to hover slightly while keeping up with him on the dirt road. "I will not allow you to use either myself or Sypha in this revenge attempt on your father." 

"It's not Revenge." He finally said. "I want-"

"Yeah yeah." Trevor made a blase motion with his hand. "Stop using your mother as an excuse."

"Stop using my mother at all! You never met her, you don't know what she wanted or would have... liked." Alucard stopped, and landed. He closed his eyes and worked to remember the things she said and did, but all he conjured up was colors of frabric and the smell of mint. "Your mother, what is she like?" Alucard finally managed to choke out. Trevor stopped and looked back.

"Was." He said after a moment. "I'm the last of the house of Belmont. Some sort of water creatures drowned her."

"I'm sorry." Alucard said. "IF you remember where I -"

"It was years ago, I was 8." Trevor steeled his shoulders and began to move forward towards the town again. "It doesn't matter."

"You didn't answer what she was like." Alucard prompted. 

"The only thing..." Trevor paused. "I doubt it means much to you, but she made apple dumplings every year on someone's birthday." Alucard could almost smell them, as Trevor's eyes got a glassy look about them. HE then stopped. 

"How can you use your mastery over me to drain me dry." Trevor said, all business. Alucard resisted the urge to give a fanged smile. 

"That's the one thing I know, I can't." He finally said. "With Winepresses, it's a little switch that goes off, lets me know when I can let go so the person I drink from can easily recover." He gave a small shrug. "Or that's what the legends agree on. You are the first person I ever drank from."

"Oh, how sweet." Trevor mocked. "I'm still going to stake you when this is through."

"You can try." Alucard said simply, and walked forward.


	8. Trevor vs Alucard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been edited as I was too sleepy to really give it a once over when I submitted it. While things have been cleared up, nothing has fundamentally changed.

Trevor rubbed where Alucard bit him for the umpteenth time. Each pass over the slightly raised bumps brought back memories of his bestiary, where nothing like this was ever said. 

Was he a monster? Would he turn into a Vampire once he died? Did Dracula hold sway over him? 

More questions he couldn't answer. At some point, Belmont, you have to realize that continuous questions do you no good. 

He rubbed the bite marks again. 

 

Alucard hadn't said a word to him since their last argument. Fair. Where was Sypha. He needed her. It wasn't fair to make her the peace keeper in all of this, but he was a vampire hunter and Alucard was... well, a dhampyr. Half Vampire. He still had the blood sucking and the fangs and the floating and... 

Trevor shuddered.

What would Uncle Ernest thing if he saw him now. Poor, hated, and a feedbag for a Vampire. 

That was a weird feeling. To have to trust someone like that, whatever it is they were doing, it wasn't going to kill you. Sure, you could make smaller uses of that belief. When someone cooks your food for example. But draining your very blood in order to survive.... that was something else. Those fangs had to have a narcotic of some kind. Otherwise why would unwilling victims stop fighting?

Trevor stopped for a moment, and took in the scenery. They had covered a decent amount of ground, considering they had fought a vampiress earlier today. The road was well traveled, and no obvious signs of werewolves or other monsters that hung about towns. A forest lined both sides of the road, but Trevor could see into the forest quite a ways. A cool wind whipped down the road and found it's way into his coat. It really was the one thing he had left. A stupid cloak. 

Alucard continued towards the town ahead, but suddenly stopped. He was no more than ten feet in front of Trevor, and he began to rub his neck. "Sypha, she's in trouble." Alucard finally said. "How far are we away from the town?"

"At least a mile, but I'd put my bet closer to two." Trevor said as he walked towards Alucard. He could feel the dirt and rocks crunching under his feet. "How much trouble is she in?"

"I'm not sure, but-" Alucard turned to look at Trevor. "I know a way to move both of us quickly. But as it involves Vampire powers, I'm unsure if you wish to press forward." 

"Of course I will, it's for Sypha." Trevor replied. Even standing here, he could feel his muscles tensing, preparing for the inevitable fight against Alucard. But he shouldn't. After all, Alucard had told the truth. He had not touched him since when he bit him. 

For Trevor, It wasn't so much "You are stuck with this." That was a statement of fact. "Every single dead ancestor would hate you for helping a vampire" Is somewhere between opinion and fact. 

"What do you have in mind to rescue Sypha" Was a choice. He could rescue Sypha by just running to town and searching in there. Or he could give her up as lost. Or maybe even stealing a horse to race into town and wake everyone up to make sure Sypha was safe. Those were all options. And no one would blame him if he went with those. But this was a decision on his own.

Alucard gave a smile that let his fangs sneak out. Then, before Trevor could remind himself that this was safe, Alucard disolved into an army of bats and swarmed Trevor. 

Trevor had enough time to wonder about the situation before the bats engulfed him. Or maybe he was a bat himself. Who knows. Either way, Trevor Belmont suddenly realized he was flying over a field that lead into the city. Actually he was moving fairly quickly...

Then Treor hit the ground, and staggered. Alucard landed as primly as if he practiced. Which he probably did.

As Trevor staggered to his feet, he realized he was in front of some sort of bar and hotel. As he stared at the sign with the black beast, Alucard forced his way into the bar, Trevor followed.

"Excuse me-" Trevor said getting the edge over Alucard. "A friend of mine should have checked in earlier. We are in the same research group as her." He said. Alucard took this as the sign he should plant his feet on the ground. 

"Room 215." The bald manager said. Trevor rushed that way, ignoring some people watching from a nearby table, and began to walk towards 215. Alucard came up the stairs, as quiet as a ghost. Trevor knocked on the wooden door.  
"Sypha?" He called out. But no answer.

"Break it." Alucard finally said. 

Trevor finally managed to break through the door, only to see some sort of horse person pressing down on her larynx. 

"Ah." Trevor finally said. "Let's find out what you are, Beasty."


	9. Sypha vs The Mare

Sypha ran down the beach, the wet sand squishing under her 8-year-old toes. Her robes flew out behind her like a hawk's wings. If she looked over her shoulder, she would see her grandfather laying down on the sand, enjoying the sun that beat gently onto his face. The sun would warm up her arms and cause the beach to smell like, well, a beach. Sand has a smell, and so does the ocean. And with that and the sun and the birds flying overhead Sypha jumped to join them but fell face first into the sand. As she got up, she could taste the sea salt on her lips, and the faintness that was ocean water. It was always somehow earthy and living even though it was water. Oh, the conundrums of life. 

Still, she giggled and used the water to wipe the sand off her face. She glanced back at her Grandfather and saw him get up and walk over to the other Speakers. They were adding a story today, of a man who went out to slay a dragon and instead befriended him. It was a good story, but she hadn't seen the ocean since she was three and she would hear the story tonight. 

Were there any stories about mermaids? What if she was a mermaid! That would be the best. She could dive underwater and never need to breathe as she made friends with all the little fish. She could go far out to see and find her mother the mermaid and her father the sailor. They must be stranded on an island somewhere, and Sypha the mermaid human would rescue them and sing until other sailors came and she could lead them back to shore where her grandfather would wait with her favorite food. 

Sypha jumped and splashed in the water, feeling the warm water slap softly against her knees and.... wait...

"Grandfather?" She called out. The water was pulling on her cloak like all the crabs and starfish had hands were trying to drag her into the water. "GRANDFATHER!" She shouted again. He did not turn to look at her. In fact, he was so far away. Almost as if Sypha had drifted farther out to see. She looked down and saw the water was now at her waist, and it was pulling hard on her cloak.

"GRANDFATHER!" she shrieked. Her clothes felt like they were made of stones as they pulled her down into the water. Her grandfather did not see her and the water grew rough as it came up to her neck.

"SYPHA!" a voice shouted back.

Alucard.

Just for a moment, she was her adult self and back on dry land. The sand and beach were gone, and instead, she hovered slightly over the floor in her room at the inn. She glanced to the side and found a horse like creature strangling her body. She gasped.

"Sypha, are you okay?" Alucard reached out and grabbed her arm. She swung around and saw his form, slightly see through. Behind him, Trevor - thoroughly ignoring all of this - was trying to hit the creature with his whip. Unfortunately, it kept on hitting the wall behind him instead. 

"WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING, DO IT QUICKLY. THEN EITHER GET HER BODY OR HELP ME ATTACK IT!" Trevor shouted, his eyes still on the creature. "It's a Mare! It's trying to suffocate her!" 

There was a muttered sound and Sypha spotted Alucard's prone body leaning against a wall. It muttered something.

"I have to get back," Alucard said. The Creature hissed as Trevor finally managed to land a blow. "Are you all right." 

"I'll fight from in there. I'm dreaming of drowning." She said. She then felt her body.... waver. Alucard looked worried, and then she was back in the ocean. 

"YOU HEAR ME MARE!" Sypha shouted. "Come and face me here!" 

She couldn't move though. But she could hear. Trevor shouting curses at the monster or at himself for missing something. Alucard sounding regal and then it turned into a wolf-like snarl as what sounded like claws bounded across the floor. Then something crashed against the floor. 

No, she wasn't going to go down like this.

"I AM SYPHA BELNADES!" She shouted. "THIS IS MY DREAM! AND I AM SAFE!" 

The water receded, somewhat. She now stood in a ten-foot wide circle on the ocean floor. Water surrounded her as if she was inside a glass, floating in the ocean. She took a breath and pulled her hands together. The magic she summoned could either destroy this or destroy the inn. Let's not do either.

"HUSH AND LET ME SPEAK!" She shouted. Her hands rested in front of her, crackling with quiet energy. "There once was a girl who dreamt of the day she heard the story about the man and the dragon of Spain." She firmly planted her feet in the sand and the energy grew again. "This dragon had been seen lurking through the countryside. The people in the village were scared for their animals, so they called on someone to hunt the dragon. A man volunteered." The energy began to crackle down her arms and over her shoulders. She could hear a dog whining and the crack of a whip, but Trevor's words were a mystery. "He swore he would go and fight the dragon to rescue the town. And so he went on this journey. I could tell you about the mountain trolls he beat. Or the Siren he wooed. Or the time he saved a raven and the life debt the entire raven population owed him. But now is not the time." By now the power had almost reached her feet. "No, I shall tell you of when he faced the dragon, the dragon did not move. The dragon saw what the man had done and asked why it had come to the dragon. When the man said he had come to defend the village, the dragon laughed and said that was what he had done. A Basilisk had been hunting the countryside, and the dragon had gone to stop it. Ashamed, the man apologized. The dragon accepted and flew the man back to the village so they could explain it." The power reached the ground and burst out along it. It dove into the water, which shrieked and whisked away until it formed a floating Mare, screaming in pain.

"GOT IT!" Trevor shouted. 

"THIS IS MY STORY!" Sypha shouted, pointing at the water mare. The energy plunged back in. "I have woken the Sleeping Soldier with the help of a Belmont and the three of us will stop Dracula. I will NOT be killed in a roadside in by some monster that wants to use my dreams for a snack!" 

The water mare burst and Sypha sat up in bed and sucked air into her lungs.

"Thank you for letting me speak." She barely gasped out. She tried to crawl out from the bed and fell towards the floor. Before her head hit it, she fell onto the fur of a wolf. She tried to breathe deeper, but the wolf fur buried itself into her lungs. Then, suddenly, Alucard was holding her. He was just a smidge too cold, but he was solid. 

"Do you have any other transformation powers I should know about?" Trevor grumbled, then fell onto the floor with a THUNK. "Bats, wolves, what else is there?"'

"Mist, supposedly," Alucard replied. "Easier to get through walls, but slower." 

"We're... going... together..." Sypha panted. "Cold.."

"Trevor, you better-" Alucard lifted Sypha up, easy as can be. Trevor held her tight. She rested her head on his chest and could hear his heart thumping, strong and sure. Something warm fell on her and she realized that Alucard had pulled Trevor's cloak around her shoulders.

"Yes," Trevor said. She had her eyes half closed, but she could feel Trevor Belmont stroking her hair. "I still have questions, but Alucard could tell you were in trouble and we made it here in time." 

"We'll kill... Dracula... together..." She said blurrily. 

"Get some sleep, I'll take watch." She heard Alucard say as if from far away. Trevor's chest rose and fell in a calming rhythm as the two lay down in the bed. His arm was around her waist so she would always know he was there. His breath and his heartbeat stayed steady but slowed as the fight passed. She was safe now. Dracula was not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mare_(folklore)
> 
> THe Mare is - to my knowledge - not a monster in Castlevania.


	10. Alucard vs People

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) I have gone over 1000 hits on this! Thank you, everyone!
> 
> 2) I should probably change some of those tags. Any suggestions? 
> 
> 3) Sorry for the delay. A few unavoidable things came up and I didn't get the time to write. But I'm back now!

Alucard staggered out of the room and fell down onto the second floor's floor. 

As glad as he was that Sypha was safe, he should be in there with them, sleeping. Sure, he had slept a year recovering, but there is a difference between a sleep to heal and asleep because you have had a long day. 

However the Mare found her, it was dead now. And he needed to keep watch. At least he didn't need to be in the room. Apparently, he was alerted when Winepresses were in supernatural danger. A welcome addition to the knowledge of a winepress but... 

Ugh. He needed sleep. These thoughts didn't make sense. 

He also needed to get off the floor before someone noticed him. 

With a groan that betrayed aching muscles and buzzing thoughts, he stood up and reached out for the banister. The wood flaked under his enhanced grip. Right. This was what wood felt like. That year in the coffin was all metal and stone and blood. Wood, fragile but strong, was something a bit odd to feel. The entire bar felt that way, it held the worries of years, but the wrong worry would crack it. Shatter the seats those people sat in, or maybe destroy the counter in the center. Just the right strength, the right word...

The stairs creaked under his weight. Were they this loud when he came up? He hadn't noticed. Sypha was buzzing in his head with a sense that something was WRONG. Nothing named, just wrong. Not that she could know, she was asleep. Maybe it was some sort of a bad dream?

He got off on the ground floor and walked to the bar, limping slightly. His muscles would stretch out in the end. They always do. Was that his human side? 

He took a spot at the far end of the bar and not for the first time hoped that no one would notice him.

Fat chance.

Not that he had ever liked Aunt Carmilla, well liked her a lot. She was fine. Showed up now and again. Sometimes she and Laura brought presents from across some sea or far away land. But his mother didn't know the details of being a vampire and his father could be... unapproachable. Oh, they had their happy times - the three of them stargazing was a fond memory - but "How do you suck blood" is not something to bring up with your mother. And his father had never taught him. Plus that would trigger the Arguments. The Arguments over "How should Adrian be raised" Should he be baptized, is he immortal, when should he read, should he know how to hang from the ceiling. 

To his father, he was a bit of an experiment, "How does a Vampire age. What makes a Dhampyr different from a human." 

Alucard had found those books of study when he was 10. There were even drawings and notes of how much he weighed. 

His mother had them too. But they were sketches of him trying to bake her a cake, or when she took him to the fair. Those things. 

Aunt Carmilla and Laura took him to fields to show him how to bite cows and got him those books of fiction. Vlad Tepes would never let his son read such filth, and his mother was always more focused on her own studies to think about "The Tales of Genji" That was what aunts are for. 

And now they are dead. He helped kill them. Well, Trevor and Sypha did. But he would help kill his father. What monster did that make him? Or was he one already as a Dhampyr?

"Mister, wanna drink?" 

The woman's voice jerked him out of a musing on souls and he looked into her eyes. 

"No thank you." He said. He looked back down, trying to keep his fangs out of sight. Ten minutes? Must be the longest someone has gone without talking to him in a bar. 

"It's on the house." The woman insisted. She pulled something over, by the sound of scraping on the dirt floor, and sat down on a stool with a "thunk". "You look lonely." 

Alucard went back to looking at the bar. It was very well polished. If he had a strong reflection he would have seen himself in in it. 

"I have my companions." He said stiffly. 

"Well, you can always have one more." The woman said in what she considered a flirty matter. 

"Not interested," Alucard replied. He looked back up to look her in the eyes. They were a nice brown, but the night called him more than whatever this Siren wanted. True night, with its quiet wind and small creatures and no talking, just glimmering stars he could see better than his mother. 

"How about a bed? Your friends left you high and dry." She rested her arms on the bar so she could look him better in the face.

"You have customers." He replied again, wishing for a drink just to do something with his hands. Not that he would trust anything she poured him. Maybe she was a siren. Or she just got stuck in his magnetism. Good for getting drinks and food for friends, bad when you needed to be alone.

"Just the normal crowd, they can wait." She said and put her hand on his arm. Fortunately one of the covered parts. 

"Get your hand off me." He said tersely. "I want to be alone." 

"You were alone and looked sad." The woman said. "And tired. I have a bed," 

His fangs itched, and he focused on breathing steadily. No good if his eyes went red here. It would be written off as a drunken hallucination though. 

"I want to be alone, I do not want your company. I do not want a drink. I want to be able to listen for my companions and you are not one of them." He said through almost gritted teeth. "If you are a siren, you have failed, if you are not one and just want my company I do not give it. And you still have not removed your hand from my arm so do that and leave me alone or-"

"Adrian." A voice, drunk with sleep, came from the staircase. Alucard jerked his head over and saw Trevor standing on the landing on the steps. He wasn't wearing that cloak, Sypha must still have it, and he grabbed onto the railing a bit harder than need be. He blinked in the brighter lights of the main room. "You want to come up? Sypha wants some more company. That nightmare shook her." 

"Of course." Alucard wrenched his arm from the woman's grip and strode up the stairs in such a manner his black coat billowed out in what he hoped was contempt. 

"Thank you." He whispered as he got to the landing. 

"Don't mention it," Trevor said as he started to walk up too. "I got a bad feeling that you wanted help."

"I did," Alucard admitted. He glanced at the nearing door. "Does Sypha-"

"Still sound asleep." Trevor frowned. "Do you have any blank books?"

"No. Do you want one?" Adrian asked as he reached for the handle.

"Tomorrow. I have a thought. Also, that other bed is empty." Trevor nodded towards a bed to the left of where Sypha lay in Trevor's cloak. "Did you ever share a bedroom with your folks?" 

Alucard looked at the straw bed, with a single quilt used as cover. 

"Just at my mother's hut when we stayed there." 

"Move the bed over," Sypha muttered from her spot in the bed. "You need sleep. Trevor needs sleep. I need sleep. Trevor is going to fall off the bed if he keeps on like this."

"What?" Trevor asked. "how-"

"You are too bulky." Sypha sighed and opened up one eye. "I am glad we are all talking again, but we also need sleep and you are not sleeping on the floor if I can help it. Or the ground. You are our muscle and need a good night's sleep."

"You are making this very awkward," Trevor muttered. 

Alucard dutifully pushed the bed over and the three maneuvered into place, with Sypha in the middle. 

In a few minutes, his companion's gentle heartbeats lulled Alucard to sleep.


	11. Trevor vs Literacy

The Great House of Belmonts insisted on their children being able to read and write. It was a sign of status. 

It also meant it was a LOT harder to scam someone when they know how to read an invoice. 

"Sypha, did you order shrimp cocktails." Trevor groaned as he rubbed his face. The bill for the night was laid out in front of him. While they had the money - Marie had thrown some extra coins in with a note that involved snakes. Did not miss a trick, that woman - that doesn't mean they should be idiotic about their expenditures. 

"I have a shrimp allergy," Sypha said simply as she ate some rye bread and cheese. "found out in Spain. I stay away from anything that isn't freshwater fish since then." 

Alucard was busying himself with some rather rare meat. "I called the bartender a siren last night, it may be because of me."

"Was she singing?" Trevor asked as he ran down the check. "Did you order anything? Beer? Wine?"

"No. To both questions." Alucard said as he pretended to wipe his mouth on a napkin. "And no one got anything for me. I got a full ten minutes of quiet."

"Is that a swipe at me or a swipe at your looks?" Trevor asked, then went back to the list. "Look, I'm going to go argue this with the owner. I need you to go into town and get three blank books, a quill, and some ink." 

"... Oh." Alucard said. Sypha looked up. 

"I don't see why you need that." She asked. "We need to travel light." She finished off her cheese and took a sip of her water. 

"We also need to keep track of a few things," Trevor replied as he slid off the chair. "Just go get three blank books and writing... stuff." He watched as Sypha also slid off her chair and put her Speaker hood up. They really did need to get new clothes for her. Alucard followed his own hood much thicker to deal with the sun. Ornate gold trimmings spelled out that he could be a mark, but Alucard and Sypha could deal with any thieves who crossed their path. 

Trevor eyed the glass of wine that Alucard had left abandoned, then sighed. It was, probably, just wine. But he wasn't going to risk it. Even if Alucard might make it a habit of drinking from him or Sypha. Not that he had. He hadn't even asked since that first night. But, still. Just because someone drank from him, doesn't mean he would drink from someone else. 

Ugh. Winepress terminology was so weird.

With a groan, he turned away from the wine glass and with another grumble he made his way towards the bartender, a man this time. Hopefully, this would be a bit easier to deal with then some girl who got a crush on Alucard and failed.   
***  
"Did you get it settled?" Sypha asked as she put three small books and a quill on the counter. Her face was pink with the wind. Alucard sulked behind her, his hood farther over his head than before. 

"Mostly," Trevor admitted as he pulled the book and quill over. He opened up the front cover and wrote "Trevor Belmont" carefully on the inside cover. Alucard grabbed his own spare book and took the ink from Trevor as soon as he finished. "I still had to pay for a bottle of wine that you didn't order, Alucard. But enough people saw you last night that my version held up well. Now, this..." He put the book down on the counter. "Is going to be a journal. We will record our experiences as Winepress and-"

"No." Sypha interrupted him. "I'm a Speaker. I SPEAK my stories. They have more feeling. To put them down to uncaring paper-" She huffed and sat down on a nearby chair. "It is anathema to us Speakers to do that."

"Family. Bestiary." Trevor said slowly. "Created from hundreds of years of everyone adding to it. Stories. Adventures. It is THE most complete book of monster hunting in the world. And Winepresses aren't in there."

"Vampire story..." Alucard muttered. He still had the quill and had started writing something Trevor couldn't read from his position. Alucard's long hair almost dripped into the ink to spread it across the table. "Humans wouldn't know."

"Yes, yes. Like Carmilla. Either way." He put the book down. "I need you to write down your experiences as a Winepress. If you feel different. If you do different things. Do you have a... awareness I guess about either Alucard or myself-"

"I'm not doing that. You can, but I can not." Sypha sniffed. 

"I work better with it all written down," Trevor said as he looked at her. "I can't tell and compare our experiences if I don't KNOW what is different for you."

"Sypha," Alucard said as he looked over at her. "If you told your stories to Trevor about being a winepress and he wrote them down, would you have a problem?"

"Yes, but less," Sypha admitted after a second. "After all, I do not control a story once it is spoken." 

"There you go," Alucard said. Trevor glanced at his book again. The elegant writing was strewn over the first few pages, along with some scientific looking diagra- is that what his beard looked like? Grow it out or find a barber? Maybe just grow it out. Alucard couldn't shave, might as well just leave it alone. Could he even grow facial hair? 

"This is the plan." Trevor finally said, pulling his mind back from his lack of a beard. "Alucard writes down everything about being a Winepress he knows from Dracula or that he has experienced. Then I do it, and fill it in with stuff from you. Later, we look at them all together and try to figure out what is going on and where to go from here. Good with you?" 

"Aye.' Alucard said. There was a note.. did that say blood types? What did that mean?" 

"Fine." Sypha groaned. "But can I take a nap before we do that? I dreamt of horses all of the last night." Bags did sag under her eyes.

"Fine," Trevor said. 'We will need some time anyway before Alucard finishes."


	12. Sypha vs Conversation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT LIVES!!!!!

Sypha grumbled as she sat down outside of the inn. Grass rolled gently over the area, and she could hear children playing in the distance. When was the last time she had heard anything like that? The Speakers had been chased through towns so often they never got to enjoy everything that each town offered. Like people who were not worried about vampires trying to kill them. Or children.

"Or how about decent food," Trevor said as he sat down next to her. "From my experience, not eating and not sleeping tend to make someone grumpy."

"I can't write," Sypha said as she took some fruit from his hand. "Raspberries. I thought you would only like grapes."

"Well grapes do rate highly in my mind, something different does do a body good," Trevor said, as he pulled some fresh bread from his side. "I also have new cheese and I can get some non-jerky beef."

"My hero," Sypha said sarcastically. "And-" Trevor also handed her a canteen of water. "Ah, so you did. And are you now a telepath to your fellow winepress or are you just good at reading women?"

"Can I claim both?" Trevor asked as he rubbed the place where Alucard bit him. Sypha found herself doing the same thing. "I never got to talk to you about this. We've just been running from one adventure to the next." 

"I know," Sypha said quietly. "What do you think this means for us? Are we part vampire now? Can we relate to humanity at all?"

"You will have to do that, I have enough trouble relating to humanity as is," Trevor said as he tore a chunk off the bread. Sypha daintily ate the cheese. "Face it Sypha, you are the most normal person among us three. If we count Alucard as human."

"He's not inhuman." Sypha tried to argue. "Trevor, listen, do you feel different about any of this?" 

"I..." Trevor handed her the bread so he didn't drop it onto the grass or the dirt road in front of them. "I don't necessarily know what to think." 

"SPeakers and Vampires don't always mix," Sypha said. "Vampires take their prey where they can get it. Traveling speakers make for a good option sometimes." She held out her hand and Trevor handed her an apple. She bit into it, new flavors popping in her mouth as some apple skin got caught between her teeth. "I don't think that's what Alucard did."

"Because we offered?" Trevor asked. He held out his hand and Sypha put a chunk of the bread in it. "And now we are-" He rubbed the bite and took his own bite of the bread. "I'm disgracing the name of the Belmonts with this." 

"This. You are disgracing the name of the Belmonts because we ran into a hiccup when trying to kill Dracula and not the fact you were completely open to dying of an inflamed liver on some sort of dirt roadside all alone until a boar eats your body?" Sypha asked with a bit of a harumph. "Trevor Belmont you need to resort your priorities."

"You are very much okay with this," Trevor replied. "Cheese?" Sypha handed him some and then leaned back so she could look out at the town square.

"I would have died last night." She said, rubbing the main part of her throat. The part that had nothing to do with vampire bites. "You and Alucard saved me. Well at least got me enough time and information that I could face the Mare on my own." 

"I would have been annoyed if you died... I mean if a random monster had killed you like that." Trevor blushed. "I'm going to go back in with Alucard."

"Nope, you are staying here." Sypha grabbed him. "The last time I was alone, a Mare tried to strangle me in my sleep."

"That was last night, you are fine now." Trevor tried to say. But he stayed down. "What do you mean you can't write."

"I'm a speaker, it was never important." Sypha sighed. She glanced at Trevor and his rather strong profile. "We make quite a trio, don't we Belmont?"

"The Magician Speaker, the Half Vampire and the Disgraced Hunter," Trevor said with a small laugh. "So, tell me, what is the next step in our plan?"

"Rest." Sypha sighed, then fell back onto the grass. "We have been running for days, fought several monsters, you are still sobering up, Alucard was sleeping for a year, and I was turned into stone and strangled by a monster. Sleep, food, and research for a day and then we continue on this wonderful trip to who knows where."

"We do have to figure out where that castle is, don't we." Trevor sighed. "Okay, what are we going to do after that?" He gave a chuckle. "You've got family." 

"It's true... I have my grandfather." Sypha admitted. "But staying with him wouldn't be the same anymore."

"You got some adventure in your blood now, eh?" Trevor gave a laugh and pulled out the last of the raspberries. "You need to go around and slay monsters and save people." He gave a smile. "Like a proper Belmont."

"Belnades, not Belmont." She said primly. "Or maybe Sypha Tepes." 

Trevor choked on the water from the canteen. 

"YOU WOULD MARRY DRACULA?"

"... Alucard. Alucard has his last name." Sypha blinked slowly at Trevor. "Really, Belmont, how did you survive this long? And why would I marry a man I'm trying to help kill?" 

"Maybe it's some sort of long Speaker game. Like... Like..." Trevor paused, and Sypha started to laugh at his flustered expression. 

"I'm glad we met," Trevor said after a moment. Sypha stopped laughing. "It's been an adventure, and it's been lonely."

"Even if you have to become a monster for it to happen?" She teased. Trevor rubbed his neck again. "I'll talk to Alucard, get our stories figured out. We can make sure nothing else happens." 

"Sypha." Trevor reached out and touched her shoulder. "We aren't monsters. We have too much heart." 

"Trev-"

"There you are." Alucard, his hood up and an infuriating smirk on his face, walked out into the sunlight. "Look, I have three full lunches waiting for us because of some admirers. Why don't we go in and talk."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because Sypha normally has a monster fight and a story, I wanted this chapter to be without one.


	13. Alucard vs Death

Alucard sat down at the table where he had left the books. Fresh bread and hot soup were set up at three spots, and Alucard’s book was in the middle. He had written his real first name - Adrian- on the front cover but otherwise, it was fairly nondescript. Aside from being a book. 

“I have a feeling more food and drinks are coming, so eat what you need to right now,” Alucard said as he half toyed with his own food. His human side of him told him that pit in his stomach would go away if he ate. But his Vampire side was grumbling about warm blood. He needed to move beyond it. He was traveling with Winepresses now who made their feelings on his vice perfectly known. 

Why did Vampires need blood anyway? 

“Alucard,” Sypha said. He started and looked into her concerned face. 

“My apologies.” He said after a moment. “What did you say?” 

“Trevor asked if you knew where Dracula’s castle was,” Sypha repeated. Alucard glanced at Trevor, who had decided to drink from his bowl in an ungentlemanly manner. 

“I haven’t asked around, but I can’t sense it,” Alucard said after a moment. “It means he is probably resting or gathering power, neither of which is a good sign.” 

“Why?” Trevor asked, and wiped broth from his chin. “To find the castle. It’s your childhood home, shouldn’t you know the way there?”

“It can move. It DOES move.” Alucard explained. “Also the town was my home, not the castle. I only visited it a few times. Either way, if Dracula decides that the castle needs to leave the area, it does so and pops up elsewhere. Usually not too far away.” He paused and forced himself to have some of the soup. “Also the inside changes near constantly.” 

“... Ah.” Was all Trevor could say. “Can you still get us there?”

“I can get you to the general area and then we can work from there,” Alucard said after another bit of soup. This was a more vegetable soup, and Alucard wasn’t sure if any meat would help. Why was this happening? He was never like this before. Did Winepresses give some sort of feedback loop? And if he skimmed from some cattle, would that be a sign of strength or weakness? He gave in after all, but did he need it to live? 

Alucard felt his fangs scrape his bottom lip. 

“Alucard-” Sypha started to say but stopped. Trevor frowned and reached slowly down towards his whip. Alucard stood up and moved a bit so he could see the door to the bar. As he watched, it opened and a cloaked figure came in. Its cloak was dark save for a small checked pattern on the hem. Its hood went over the face and covered it in darkness. 

“This will be interesting,” Alucard said after a moment and then he sat down. “Don’t do anything at the present. And don’t say anything about being Winepresses.”

“We’re not idiots,” Trevor muttered as he took a swig of whatever it was before him. Sypha continued to watch the figure. 

Alucard watched as everyone in the vicinity naturally moved out of the way for this figure. Bartenders did not greet him. The workers in for lunch did not stray from their meals or card games. But everyone got out of his way.

“Adrian.” The figure said as he approached his table. “And I see A Belmont and a Speaker here too.” The voice was strained. As if speaking was unfamiliar, or maybe it was just too hard to talk. Sypha and Trevor found themselves moving to the side to give the figure space. 

“Uncle Death,” Alucard said after a moment. He did not shake Death’s hand. Death, however, did not offer it anyway. “What are you doing here?”

“I have come to make you an offer.” Death said as he sat between the two humans. “Well, maybe more of a test. I know where Mr. Belmont’s mother is. Deal with her, and I may not tell my master you three have escaped.” The fact that skulls normally look like they are grinning did not detract from the sensation that Alucard thought he was grinning anyway. Sypha also took a drink. 

“You will probably tell him anyway,” Alucard said simply. He put his spoon down and looked Death in the eye. “You are VERY loyal to him.”

“And you are his son, beloved experiment.” Death replied simply. “Mr. Belmont’s mother is a day trip’s to the northeast, by the largest river.” 

Alucard glanced at Trevor, who had decided to stubbornly stare into his soup. Alucard felt a bit of his mind he hadn’t known about reach out and… soothe maybe? Maybe order? Either way that part of his mind was quite insistent that Trevor Belmont not talks for once. So far Trevor seemed to be listening to it. 

“I don’t trust you.” He finally said. Death nodded.

“We are both creatures of Chaos. You would be a fool if you did.” Death said finally. “I am curious about your plans if you survive. You do not truly know how short human’s lives are.”

“Is that a threat?” Trevor stood up and slammed his drink on the table. Alucard rose and joined him. 

“No, Mr. Belmont.” Death said smoothly. “Simply the observation of an immortal.” And with that, Death disappeared. 

“Trevor,” Alucard said softly. He reached out to Trevor’s shoulder. Trevor jumped but did not move otherwise. “This is your decision, what do you want to do? 

“... We go.” He said after a moment. “We have no other leads. Either it’s a trap and we either die or get someone to tell us where Dracula is, or it’s not a trap and we get a lead to where Dracula is.”

“Trevor,” Sypha said softly. “She’s probably a monster now. We may have to kill her.” 

“... I know. But I thought she was dead long ago.” Trevor said softly. He shook his head. “Alucard, the book from before, can it wait?”

“I shall alert you if my observations become relevant,” Alucard said, then sat down to work some more on his soup. “And I am sorry if I forced any of you to do something that you did not want to do.” He took a sip. “I could tell I was affecting something, but I did not know other than that.” 

“Alucard, stop trying to force yourself to eat,” Sypha said after a moment. “You’ve been poking at it for a while. Just give it to us.”

“Are you thirsty?” Trevor asked as Alucard pushed the soup over. “Remember, we’re linked now.”

“Unclear,” Alucard said after a moment. He glanced down at his cloak and felt more than saw his fingers trace the gold patterns on the sleeve. “And my issues should not be yours. The deal I made was to protect you, not the other way around.” He sniffed. “I’m a dirty vampire anyway. Keep it. I’ll make preparations for the travel.” He stood up from the seat and walked out the door. The sun hit him as he exited, and he savored the bit of weakness before he pulled his hood up. 

Vampires could not be hurt in the sun. Weakened, yes. But the idea that they burst into flame was pure fantasy. Still, Alucard was still open to a nasty sunburn. 

And Death could still take him. Not just whisk him off the street, but if it wasn’t for his sleep and the Winepress link, Alucard would have been dead by now. His father was stronger than him, in every single way. Maybe winepresses were enough of an advantage it would work. 

Alucard continued to muse as he got the various supplies. The sun slipped down over the horizon. As the stars emerged, Alucard made his way to the city wall. As quiet as a, well, vampire, he climbed up to a small projection and gazed out onto the stars. 

Mother was right. There was beauty in small things. 

The ache and hunger in his chest disappeared slowly as the night went on. And soon, Adrian Tepes fell peacefully asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They do not burn in Dracula. They are weakened. I can't tell you much beyond that as Van Helsing is VERY Hard to understand.


	14. Trevor vs Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, I didn't forget about this.

Not much happened on their trip to the northeast. They didn’t say too much, and Trevor tried not to think. 

He didn’t even know if this was anywhere near where his mother had died or was it disappeared. Either way, he was young. Maybe too young. He remembered enough about her, that she had actually cared. Or maybe it was just nostalgia. Who knew sometimes. 

Alucard took all the watches while he and Sypha slept. Alucard waved him off with something about “Nocturnal sleep cycles.” Alucard then looked up at the moon from the center of the clearing in the middle of the woods where they found themselves. There were a few rivers in the area, though which one was the largest was a different question. The forest was old though. Trevor kept his hand on his whip, and Alucard used his senses to scout ahead. 

He should be tired. He was still hungry. Normal or blood, Trevor couldn’t tell and he refused to say. Someone in his family would say that Alucard was too proud. 

“He’s an idiot.” Was all Sypha said as she curled up in her new sleeping bag. 

Trevor couldn’t remember the last time he had been sober this long. Alucard hadn’t bought any alcohol when planning the trip, and would that even make the next day better? 

The next day, he woke up to the sound of Sypha and Alucard talking. 

“You just keep on talking,” Trevor said in the slur of those who just woke up. “Probably discussing if I’m fit for today and killing my own mother.” 

The two glanced at each other. 

“... Not… exactly.” Sypha said after a moment. “Though it was on our minds.”

“Screw it.” was all Trevor said as he went off for his morning wash up. 

After a few minutes, he found a river. Across it was some farmer's fields. But the river itself was a clear blue. Water ran swiftly down the bed and across stones. Where a larger stone stuck up in the water, it twisted and frothed around it. The banks were made of compacted wet dirt that slowly turned thick and tall grass. Many larger stones were embedded in the compact dirt due to how long this river ran. With a grunt, Trevor pulled one out and threw it into the river. It clunked into the fast-moving water. 

Oh boy did he screw this up.

Clunk.

He’s companions with a vampire to hunt down another vampire with a Speaker tagging along for who knew what reason.

Clunk.

And there was the prophecy involved too.

Splash. 

Trevor looked up, and into the face of someone semi-familiar holding onto the stone her threw and was glaring at him.

“Mom?” He said as he crawled forward on his knees. “Mom, is that you?” 

Her long brown hair had turned kelpy in the meantime, and her skin had turned scaly and blue with webbing between her fingers and over her ears. 

But her eyes were the same, a deep brown. 

She said nothing, just sunk into the water. She watched him as he slowly crawled closer to the edge of the river. 

“Mom, please. Is that-” He reached out his hand to her. She raised herself slightly, reached out for his own hand, and then a twig snapped in the woods behind him. 

She hissed, revealing sharpened teeth, then dove back into the water. 

“He’s fine! He’s fine!” Sypha almost tripped over an overturned stump but caught herself before she fell into the water. She grabbed onto his arm to steady herself. “Alucard sensed something was wrong, where is he?”

“Back here.” Alucard eyed the running water. “If we need to cross that, I’ll need a boat.” 

Trevor pulled his arm downwards, and Sypha fell to the ground. 

“I saw her, and then you scared her off!” he turned towards Alucard, ignoring Sypha who used the stump she almost tripped over earlier to pull herself up. “I could have TOUCHED her! And if I have to be near your ugly mug and attitude, and you’re “Oh, woe is me my mother died’ attitude, I could at least touch my mother!” 

Something splashed behind him, and he turned to look. She rested on the bank, apparently naked, but the same blue scaly color all over. 

“She’s a Rusalka,” Sypha whispered. His mother stood up and walked slowly towards him. 

“What’s a Rusalka?” Alucard asked. “They were never in my father’s horde of creatures.”

“Sea creatures, women who drown in rivers. There are two types.” She made no movement, and Alucard stayed were he was behind them. Trevor walked forward, compelled. 

“Sypha, the types,” Alucard said in a loud whisper. 

“One is a farmer’s blessing. They spend their time watering and blessing crops. The others were murdered and spend their time drowning men trying to find the one that killed them.” Sypha glanced at his mother, and a spell of lightning began to crackle around her fingers. Neither she nor Alucard moved though, as his mother grew ever closer. 

“MOm-” He started to say, but she put one webby hand over his mouth. She used the other to pull it over his hair, then cupped the side of his face. Trevor hadn’t moved and stared into her eyes. She said nothing, as did he, then what passed for a kiss on his forehead, something shoved into his hand, then she fled into the river. As they watched, she pulled herself out on the farmer’s side and shook off the water. Where it landed, the plants grew or turned greener. 

“What do you want to do,” Alucard asked. It wasn’t really a question though. Trevor looked down and saw she had given him a bracelet. It was tarnished and chipped, but Trevor ran his hands over where there should have been an engraving of his name. It was some anniversary present for her, he didn’t care as a kid and his dad never said. 

“Leave her.” He looked up, but she had long since disappeared into the crops. “We’re dealing with her by letting her be.” 

“I don’t know if that is allowed.” Death’s voice came into the clearings from the stump by where Sypha stood. She took a step back, tripped again, and this time Alucard caught her. 

“You said to deal with her, we are by leaving her. Now tell us where Dracula’s castle is.” Trevor didn’t turn to look at Death but allowed his hand to go to his whip. 

“I agree with Mr. Belmont,” Alucard said. “Uncle Death, you said deal with her, not how.” 

“She is a monster though, I thought Belmonts killed all monsters. And yet…” 

Trevor did all he could to keep his hand from reaching up to the marks on his neck that were there. 

“I am a Belmont. Trevor Belmont, last of the house of Belmonts.” He turned around now and took in the scene. Sypha had started a fire spell. Alucard was reaching for his sword. Trevor cracked his whip and stared Death in the face. “We hunt monsters, yes, but only to protect people. My mother is fulfilling the oath of a Belmont, even as a Rusalka.” He strode towards death, stepping in the damp footsteps of his mother. Death stood up, and it was then that Trevor realized how tall death was, taller than Alucard. Death’s disguise as a traveler melted away, leaving him in a cloak. His face and arms were bone, and as Trevor watched, Death’s bony hands pulled out a scythe from mid-air. 

“I will not hurt her.” He finished. “And neither will my companions.” 

“Then, you will die on the banks. As I take your soul into my domain, your mother shall eat your bones.” Death stated. 

“Or she will feast on yours.” Trevor hissed back. His whip cracked. “You will not harm her, you will not harm them.” 

Death moved forward before Trevor could move. It was fast, it was DEATH, it had missed its target.

Or, rather, Alucard had gotten in the way of its target.

Death’s hands gripped Alucard's throat. As Trevor watched, Alucard’s hair turned from blond to bright silver. 

Trevor then brought the whip forward and cracked it on Death’s head. Death staggered back from Alucard, who dropped to the ground, each breath sounding raspy. The wind swirled under him and pulled him to Sypha. 

“Got him, get Death.” She said, then pulled him into the woods. 

Death glared at Alucard, but a whip crack got his attention again. As he began to walk towards Trevor again, Trevor used his free hand to pull out his short sword. Then, from nowhere, a rock came from the river and hit Death on his head. 

He turned and saw a Rusalka pull herself onto the banks. 

“So be it.’ Death whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rusalkas are a real myth, are from the area that Castlevania takes place in, and their only appearance has been in Order of Ecclesia.


	15. Sypha vs Death

******  
Sypha pulled Alucard’s unconscious body deeper into the woods. She couldn’t see Trevor and his mother face off against Death itself, but she could still hear what was going on by the river. The rocks seemed to be helping a lot. Still, they needed Alucard. 

“Come on, come on.” She muttered as she sat down. It would be easier. 

He had gone pale, well paler than usual. His lips were thin and white, and they drew back to reveal his fangs. His skin drew tight on his face, and with his eyes closed, it was almost as if he was a skull with hair. 

The wind she cast helped cushion him as she tried to get his head up to her shoulder. Her stomach lurched as she thought about what was going to happen. She trusted Alucard, but this still required an assurance this would all be okay. 

Death was trying to kill her friends, and right now she could save all of them. But to do that, she needed to do something she felt uncomfortable doing alone in the woods. 

Sort of.

This wasn’t so difficult last time!

Because Trevor did it first. Because Alucard was talking and could move and was breathing. Because she didn’t know what was ahead.

Now it was just her to save Alucard. And Alucard was little more than dead weight and already had some hunger issues. This would just make things so much worse.

“Come on, come on.” She said as she finally managed to manipulate him to her shoulder. “Alucard, right now we need you.” The raggedy breath was not any easier by her ear. “I need you. We need to defeat Dracula. I need… I need your friendship. And Trevor’s. Both of you. I know we don’t know each other well, but we are BOUND together.” 

Her body tensed, waiting… waiting….

“Hush and let me speak.” She said slowly. “Once there was a girl who was born into the speaker class. Sometimes people didn’t treat her fairly, but it was okay. They were scared. Her job was to stop people from being scared. “ 

Alucard’s breathing slowed. She didn’t know if he was stabilizing or dying. She didn’t look towards him, but she could feel his breath. 

“Once, she went into a town that was run by a corrupt priest who blamed her people for all the bad things that happened. She had traveled to other towns and had seen good priests, priests who would have fought the monsters if they knew how, and priests who focused on keeping their charges safe. Well, and nuns and sisters and brothers too. Ones who knew that science was not evil, medicine was good, and faith and food and shelter help a lot. So, knowing this one priest was bad, she went to stop him by finding a warrior. A warrior who could save the people, as foretold. She instead got turned to stone.” 

Alucard… Trevor… Mrs. Belmont…. Someone, do something! But Alucard could not be left here, he needed her. 

“Sometime later, the stone breaks and a man seems to have saved her. She joins him to find the warrior and to take down the priest. They manage to do both, but it is not a time for joy.”

The forest would have been nice. If Death wasn’t 50 feet away, she could appreciate the sun coming in from above and the smell of new rain. 

“Now we must go forth and stop everything that caused all this death in the first place. And, we unknowingly make a pact. A pact that will save all of our lives, a pact that leads to us having new adventures. A PACT I’M TRYING TO INVOKE RIGHT NOW ALUCARD WHAT DO YOU NEED, A GOLD ENGRAVED INVITATION?” 

It felt like someone stabbed her in the neck with a knife. 

The first time he bit her it was… maybe she was more relaxed. Or maybe he was just more hungry this time. EIther way, the fangs bored into her neck and she felt the blood leave her body before it could reach her head. He felt like a dark sky during a lunar eclipse. Distant, lonely, and free, and with every swallow of her blood, the lights of the sky returned. 

Then Alucard's night sky bloomed with light and he stepped away from her. She almost fell, but he caught her in his arms. She looked up, carefully, as the sun now pierced her eyes.

“Thank you for letting me listen to you speak,” Alucard said. His hair still shimmered silver, but his face was back to normal. “Now, let us go beat my uncle.”

Sypha leaned on Alucard as they made their way through the forest. 

“I really do mean it, thank you. I think you gave me what you would call it a “Kick in the pants.” Sypha just wanted to lean her head onto his chest and sleep. She could hear his heartbeat in his chest. Slow, faint, but so steady. “Sypha, we may need you to fight. I’ll drink from Trevor later if I need it.”

“Ok.” She muttered. “Why is this so exhausting?”

“I literally drank a good bit of your blood. Winepresses mean you would survive as I knew when to stop-” He paused. “We need to go.” 

He picked up Sypha and rushed to the glen, much faster than she as a human could ever go. He set her down by the trees and she leaned on one. With her now free hands, she summoned up some fire. 

Trevor was down on one knee. His clothes were torn, his coat gone, a few cuts covered his face, and a bruise covering the right side of his face was already starting to appear. Blood dripped from some cuts on his arms and a large gash was on his side. His mother was back in the water and was trying to throw rocks from the river. The kelpy hair she had looked dried up and scales were flaking off where there were cuts. 

“DEATH! Leave them alone!” Alucard shouted as he strode onto the scene. Sypha ignored him and tried to focus on Death. Hopefully not hers. 

“Adri..en…” Death looked back and forth between Trevor (and his exposed neck. The cloak must be around here somewhere), Alucard and his dripping fangs, and Sypha with the thin trail of blood that went down her neck. 

“No.” Death stepped back. “WINEPRESS?” 

“Apparently!” Sypha shouted, and shot out a stream of fire. 

… It didn’t get that far, but it DID set some of the nearby grass on fire. Alucard stepped through it, and flame flickered around his coat before extinguishing. 

“Why do you do this?” Death asked. He swung his scythe, and Alucard blocked it with his rapier. Sypha felt herself starting to slip, and fell into the waiting hands of Trevor.

“I got you.” He whispered. “Are you okay?”

“Tired,” she said. “He said he would drink from you later if he was still thirsty.”

“That’s fine.” Trevor looked over. “Just rest for a minute, okay?” 

“Okay.” She said. “But I don’t want to leave you alone.” 

“We’re winepresses, right?” He smiled at her, and she gave a tired one back. “We are never going to be completely alone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to try to wrap this up by October with the new RELEASE DATE!


	16. Alucard Vs Death (again)

Alucard raised his blade and tried to keep it from shaking. Death could probably tell, but Trevor and Sypha couldn’t know. Sypha would be alright. Tired, but alright. A drink from a winepress would always stop once it got dangerous. 

The problem was death took more than Sypha could give. 

She still tasted the same, all fire and ice and stories in languages he would never understand. All terrible and wonderful and how did he get so lucky to know her.

But Death would have killed him if Trevor and Trevor’s mother hadn’t intervened. And even if Sypha died, she couldn’t fix that. 

SO that is why Alucard was biting his lip to keep from wincing as he held his sword. 

“Do they put your faith in just you? Or will all of you exhausted work together to kill the unkillable?” Death hissed. He floated over the grass just a little bit. Alucard took a breath and charged. 

Ungainly, off balance, but a charge nonetheless which caused Death to move back in shock. 

“Why do you do this?” Death asked, before backhanding Alucard with his scythe. Alucard fell and skitted on the ground. The damp of the ground caused him to slip further towards the running water, which no vampire can cross. He tried to grab onto something solid, but before he could find it, a hand rested on his back. A scaley hand. 

“MOM!” Trevor shouted from over by the banks. A dip in the water had turned her back to how they found her, and even the scars were healing up well. SHe hissed and held out her slightly clawed scaly hands. She then knelt down and pulled on Alucard’s elbow to lift him up. 

“Thank you, Mrs. Belmont,” Alucard said as he got up. She gave him a sharp-toothed smile then darted across the field to stand in front of her son. Sypha - still pale - leaned up against a tree but her hands were out in preparation for a spell. 

“You are all tired, and weak. One of you lost a good chunk of their lifespan and another lost about a third of their blood. A third is a monster and the last one is a simple human who is in great pain.” Death primed their scythe. “ Why are you fighting?”

“That’s a good question,” Trevor said from his place by Sypha and his mother. “Truth is, Dracula has been nothing but a blight on humans. And as mean as some people have been to me, others have been fantastic. So I’d rather have people around, thanks.” 

“And you, Adrian.” Death turned to Alucard. “These people who murdered your mother, you will save them too?”

“In a town some distance away, there is a woman, a weaver, who gave us money and a place to stay for no real reason. The excuse was to clear out the catacombs but that was so we didn’t feel like it was charity.” Alucard said, trying desperately to keep still as he stood. “Those two humans offered me blood when I didn’t ask. There have been some cruel people, yes. But nice people too. Humanity and Monsters are not monoliths, and you should not treat them as such.” 

“Fine.” Death said. “I shall keep you alive, Adrian Tepes, as my master demands that you return to him. The others die. “

“That won’t work.” Sypha piped up. “Trevor’s mom is a Rusalka, a monster of life and renewal. And you Death are going against her?” 

“She can not completely beat me.” Death raised his scythe. “She is just one creature who has resisted Dracula’s call.” 

“She’s my mom! We’re a family. And Sypha and Alucard too!” Trevor shouted as he pulled on his whip so it stretched between his hands. “And with our family, we will destroy Dracula where he stands.” 

Alucard moved positions slightly, and then Sypha sent out a gust a wind that pushed Death back. He was only ever a few feet away from Alucard and his sword, and this just hastened the process. Death looked down at the rapier that was now sticking out of his open rib cage. 

“You aren’t giving up, are you.” Death said as he started to vanish. 

“No.” Alucard hissed. “And tell my father that too. They are my family. If he wishes to give up this scheme that mother did not want, we will all go on our way. If not, I will spend the rest of my life - no matter how long or short - opposing him at every time. I am bound to them, and their line is under my protection too. “

“I’m going to tell him about the Winepresses…” Death chuckled as he faded. “And how you could barely beat me.”

“You do that,” Alucard replied. “We will find him.” 

And with that, Death vanished, and Alucard sunk to his knees. His rapier fell into the mud with a thunk, and his body soon followed. Trevor managed to get his coat off before he too fell on it like a pillow. Sypha fell down next to him and scooted over to use it as a pillow too. 

“You know..” Alucard managed to wheeze out. “I don’t think I can get you food anymore in the pubs.”

“I think you look dashing,” Sypha said through a faceful of fur. As if to prove her point, Mrs. Belmont left Trevor to pat Alucard’s head, then went back to stroking her son’s head. “Should we just camp here for the night?”

“Can anyone move?” Trevor asked back. 

“No,” Alucard admitted. “But I’m more worried about Sypha.” 

Mrs. Belmont left Trevor to dive into the water with a canteen she snatched from Trevor, then dove into the water. When she came back up, she went over to Sypha and lifted her up so Sypha’s head was on her lap. Then she slowly tipped the water into her mouth. After a few mouthfuls, she removed the canteen, placed Sypha back down gently on the cloak, then went to her son. 

“I got this, Mom.” He said. Sypha was already snoring slightly. Alucard smiled as the sun slowly reminded him it was out. It didn’t kill him, but he could tell the back of his neck would be burnt. Until a scaly hand grabbed him and began to pull him into the shadows. 

“My mom’s the best,” Trevor said finally. 

Alucard wanted to agree, but instead, memories of his own mother and his sheer exhaustion flooded him. He began to quietly cry into the mud, his tears mixing with the blood split from Trevor’s fight before. And then his own head was lifted into someone’s lap and a scaly hand brushed his now silver hair from his face. 

“Sypha will need water-” Was all he managed to say before he passed out.


	17. Trevor vs Farmers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone who's found this since Castlevania S2 aired! I'm sorry I haven't gotten a new chapter out before now. So here is the next one!

His Mom stayed with them for a bit. Once Alucard was asleep, she went back to him and stroked his head for a while too.

She used to do that when he was a kid. When he couldn’t sleep or had nightmares, she would come into his room, put his head on her lap, and just stroke his hair until he fell asleep.

Then one day she went out to fish and never came back. The mystery was closed but at what cost? 

Just… he had his life back to normal… for a few moments.

Trevor could never resist his mother stroking his hair and soon fell asleep too.

When he woke up, he was staring into the eyes of a sun-beaten older man. 

“Ah. You’re awake. This river’s Rusalka went and got me as soon as she heard me working around in my fields.” 

The hat on his head didn’t seem to have protected his face, and his arms were thick with muscle. His eyes were brown and surrounded by wrinkles. His hair was once black but had started to go gray, from what Trevor could see under the hat. Behind him, he could see his mom waiting in the shade. 

“Trevor Belmont, the Rusalka is my mom.” He said as he sat up. Mud made his shirt cling to his back and he winced as he pulled at some healing cut. 

“She has been a wonderful help to the farms near here.” The farmer said and reached out. Trevor grabbed his hand and the farmer pulled him up. “So, who else is here?”

“Sypha and Alucard,” Trevor said, indicating each. Sypha gave a wave from where she lay, still on Trevor’s jacket. Alucard managed to sit up in the mud and grass. His mom gave a look like “I’m so proud of all of them.” 

“Yeah, you guys look like you need a place to sleep. Come on, the wife’ll wash your clothes. I’m Kushnir.” He walked over to help Sypha stand up, as Trevor helped Alucard. Alucard glanced at the river.

“Do you have a boat?” He asked. He was heavily leaning on Trevor, but Trevor didn’t really know if he was trying to make it seem like he couldn’t swim for weakness, or if he was that injured. 

And, did it matter?

 

***  
A few minutes later, the three of them (and his mom) were on the other side of the river. They all walked a path through the farm towards his house, but she stopped about a hundred feet from the river and looked back. 

“You have to go?” Trevor asked. She nodded. Trevor dug into his pocket and pulled out the tarnished bracelet and put it on his wrist. She gave a pointed tooth smile, and he let go of Alucard to limp back over to her. As soon as he got close enough, She wrapped him up in a hug. Her vaguely clawed hands dug into his back and her kelp-like hai smelt of fish and river water. It was monstrous. He was home. 

And then what passed for a kiss on his forehead, and she tore herself from him to run back into the river. Her footprints leaving moss and small flowers in its wake. 

He stared at where she left, then wavered a bit. 

“I’m fine.” He muttered and rubbed his eyes. “I’m fine.”

“Like I said, she’s been a good Rusalka,” Kushnir said as Trevor made his way back to the group. Sypha looked at the ground, and Alucard watched him with eyes that seemed to sympathize. “She doesn’t drown anyone and she fights off anything that attacks the crops if she can.” 

“I… that’s good.” He finally said. He looked at the ground and didn’t look up until they got to the house.

***  
“We’ve got water outside for you to clean up.” The farmer’s wife said. She looked the part, strong limbs, and dressed in cooking stained covered clothes. The sun had started to set, bathing everything in an orange light. Trevor’s whip and Alucard’s sword were resting just inside the door, as per hospitality rules. Not that they could use them anyway right now. “You go do that first, I’ll get to cooking.” 

“Can we just dump it on us?” Sypha asked from her space on the floor. The holes on her neck had sealed up, but she was still rather pale. Then again, Trevor figured he looked the same too. ANd Alucard always was incredibly pale. 

 

“I’ll help you.” Trevor groaned as he started to stand up. “I’ll go after you.” 

“Fine,” Alucard muttered, but he didn’t move much anyway. 

The two managed to stagger outside to the side of the house. A pail and a giant bucket of water were set up. Next to them was an old, wide, bucket. 

“Can you get my cloak?” Sypha asked. Trevor obliged, unclasping it and removing it so just her dress remained. 

“I can turn around if you want.” Trevor shrugged as he turned around. “Or help with the water or whatever.”

“IT doesn’t matter. Normally I’d say you’ve been to public baths, but when we met I didn’t know if you bathed at all. Actually, I still don’t know.” Sypha replied. Trevor kept his back to her. “Are you okay?”

“No.” He replied. His own coat was still inside, so he started to take off his other clothes, wincing as he pulled at recovering cuts. He could hear Sypha dumping the bucket of water over her head behind him. “She just… disappeared one day. And then she comes back and saves me, saves us, and I won’t see her.” He turned and leaned up against the house. Dirt and wood clung to his forehead. The night fell quickly. 

“But you also know you can no longer worry,” Sypha said as she lay in the bathing barrel. “SHe’s going to be okay. Also, I think this was worse than the sewer.”

“Depends which is worse… death or Cyclops.” Trevor replied. He grew quiet until he felt someone touch his shoulder. Sypha stood there, her cloak and dress back on. 

“Get washed.” She said. “Take as long as you need.” 

Trevor stayed quiet, hoping she understood what he did not know what to say.

She just patted his head and walked off. 

When he took his bath, he took the time to focus on the lye stinging his cuts. On how cold the water was. Anything, really, other than what was eating at him. ANd by the time his fingers got all wrinkly, he was still exhausted, but he was cleaner. His clothes were another matter. But he would deal with that later.

When he returned to the house, ready to tell Alucard about the bath, he found Alucard outside, staring at a point where the moon started to rise against the earth. 

“It’s there.” Alucard finally said. “My father is daring us to go after him.” 

“Then he can wait a day for us to rest,” Trevor said, then started to go inside. 

“It doesn’t go away,” Alucard said. Trevor paused. “I know how you feel. Approximately anyway. You live with it, focus on other things, and then it just becomes a part of you.”

“I know that.” Trevor almost hissed. Almost. Alucard was trying.

“But then your wounds are yanked open so you are dealing with it as if it was new.” Alucard continued. Trevor paused. 

“I’ll go take my bath.” And Alucard almost melted into the darkness, leaving Trevor alone in the moonlight. Behind him, he could smell food and hear Sypha talking with Kushnir and his wife. In front of him? Who knows.

**Author's Note:**

> There is not a lot of fic for this.


End file.
